FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
They own pick 31 this year, and when it comes to the dynamics of that slot, longtime Patriots director of football research Ernie Adams speaks from a rare perspective.
Adams was Bill Belichick's right-hand man in New England for 21 years. The team appeared in nine Super Bowls over that span, which placed it in the 31st or 32nd slot the following year. And if it wasn't those picks, the assigned selection often landed in the 20s.
For those wondering what discussions might currently be like among the Patriots regime of Eliot Wolf, Mike Vrabel, Ryan Cowden, John Streicher & Co., Adams highlights uncertainty and flexibility.
"You have absolutely no way of knowing for sure who's going to be there when you pick. It's impossible. You're a couple picks away, but it's like drafting at the top of the second round so you just have to be ready for whatever might happen," he relayed in an interview with ESPN.
"There are going to be 30 players taken ahead of you. Half of the players, everybody in the world knows they're going to be taken. But there will be surprises after that. Somebody may take a player at 23, and you say, 'Oh my, what happened there?'"